This article is based on a multicenter study in Brazil, analyzing 51 cases of suicide in elderly individuals (40 men and 11 women) based on psychosocial autopsies. A more in-depth study was conducted on the 11 cases in women. Data interpretation was based on classical authors and the recent national and international literature on the phenomenon. Women's motives for committing suicide differed partially from those of men. Like men, women committed suicide mainly by hanging themselves, and their suicide was frequently associated with degenerative illnesses and comorbidities. The main differences were due to cultural gender issues. The results agree largely with the literature and show that in Brazil the main factors associated with suicide in women are: gender and intra-family violence, suffering due to loss of significant others and the traditional role of wife and mother, and depression. The study highlights the importance of greater attention to the cumulative effect of problems with aging in women, especially those related to gender specificities.
Suicide; Gender Identity; Women; Aged
